Luke and Reid Go to a Concert
by raspberry truffles
Summary: Reid accidentally invites himself to one of Ethan's band concerts.


Title: Reid and Luke Go to a Concert

Pairing: Luke and Reid

Other Characters: Ethan, Natalie, Megan, various children and audience members.

Summary: Luke invites Reid to Ethan's band concert and Reid mistakenly agrees to go.

Setting: This story takes place one month after Luke moved in with Reid.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters they all belong to ATWT and its parent company(ies). All mistakes are mine.

Rating PG

A/N This is dedicated to KCCalGal who suggested this idea.

Warning: I am a music snob and while I have played many instruments in many bands and orchestras, I hate listening to beginning musicians, especially string players. OUCH!

Both of my kids have played in school bands, and I almost always make my husband sit through those concerts, as I am a very bad mother! *hangs head in shame*

Reid sat in his office with the blinds shut smiling like an idiot to himself. It had been exactly one month since Luke had moved in and he had never been happier.

Sure there had been some adjustments to be made, but really Luke was worth the effort. The fact that Luke smiled every time Reid walked into a room made him feel weak in the knees, Not that he would ever admit that, ever.

Luke…

Just the thought of him made Reid smile like a silly teenager, he knew that he should feel embarrassed or burdened by this, but he didn't. He loved feeling this way and secretly hoped that he always would.

Reid felt his phone buzz and smiled when he saw that it was Luke calling.

"Hey," he answered.

"Hi, how's it goin'?"

"Good," Reid answered. "I'm almost done for the day. Do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Um yeah," Luke hesitated wishing that he could spend the evening with Reid, especially if Reid was going to be home at a decent time for a change. "I'm going to a band concert."

"Sounds great," Reid enthused. "Can I come?"

"You want to come to a band concert?"

"Sure," Reid replied feeling a bit confused. "I like music."

"Great," Luke said, with much less enthusiasm than Reid would have expected.

"I can just stay home, if you like," Reid grumbled. "I don't want to force you to take me."

"No Reid, don't be ridiculous. I'm thrilled that you want to come. I'm just a little surprised, is all."

"Ok then, what time does the band start?"

"7:00, so we really need to be there no later than 6:45 to find our seats."

Reid rolled his eyes. "Only in Oakdale," he muttered to himself. "Okay well I'll see you in awhile."

Reid sat in his office wondering briefly if he should offer again to stay home. He wondered what was bothering Luke. He sighed to himself and realized that Luke would explain himself when he was ready.

Meanwhile Luke picked up the phone and called Ethan. "Guess what Buddy? Reid is coming to your concert too!"

"Really?" Ethan asked cautiously.

"Yep," Luke confirmed.

"How'd you manage that?"

"I'm not really sure; he asked what I was doing tonight and when I told him that I was going to your concert he asked if he could tag along."

"Cool!" Ethan said. "I can't wait to tell Penn and Bruce and the rest of the guys that Reid is coming to the concert!"

"Tell Natalie and Sage too, would you?"

"Sure," Ethan replied, "but I'm not going to tell them until we're on our way there, or they'll try to get Reid to help with their make-up or something."

"Thanks Ethan, I'm sure that Reid will appreciate your help."

"No problem," Ethan said. "See you later."

"Bye."

Half an hour later Reid arrived looking forward to going out with Luke.

"Hi honey, I'm ho…"Reid started, but lost his train of thought when he spied Luke lying casually on the sofa - naked.

"Hey," Luke replied with a sexy grin on his face. "Care to join me?"

Reid didn't need to be asked twice.

He began undressing as he rushed over to Luke.

"God, I love you," Reid blurted out just before he leaned in and began kissing Luke.

Luke smiled as he kissed Reid back.

"Oh my God," Luke exclaimed after he looked at the clock. "We've got to go. I'll jump in the shower, while you eat. I made you a sandwich before you got home and it's in the fridge."

"Relax Luke," Reid said as he reached out to pull the other man back into bed. "No one will care if we're a little late."

"What?" Luke exclaimed, "we've got to go. Come on, you have to get up and eat, so that there'll be time for you to shower."

"Why don't I shower with you and I can eat when while we watch the band?"

"No way," Luke stated. "Besides, if you shower with me, it'll take twice as long, easy."

"Would that be so bad?"

"Reid, don't be cute," Luke huffed as he headed for the shower. "Eat!"

"Oakhell," Reid muttered to himself as he went to find his sandwich.

Forty five minutes later Luke had managed to get the two of them into the car and on their way to the concert.

"Why are you turning in here?" Reid asked feeling confused, "this looks like a school."

"Of course it's a school, where else would the concert be?"

"Uh, I thought we were going to hear a band at Metro," Reid replied, horror tinged his voice as he realized what he was in for. "Is Ethan playing in the band?"

"Yes, and so is Natalie," Luke answered quietly. "You don't have to come if you really don't want to," Luke added generously, but his brown eyes silently implored Reid to stay.

"No," Reid said, unable to resist the pull of Luke's eyes.

"Great," Luke replied with a big smile on his face.

"Great," Reid mumbled to himself, sarcastically.

Moments later the two men entered the school and headed toward the auditorium.

"Why does it sound like cats are being tortured just beyond that door?"

"Reid," Luke exclaimed. "Be nice, those must be the beginning violinists, they'll be playing a few short pieces just before intermission, I think."

Reid gaped at Luke, momentarily at a loss for words.

"How many constitutes a few?" he asked cautiously.

"Probably three, that's how many pieces both Ethan, and Faith's bands are playing."

"That's only nine numbers, thank God, why is there going to be an intermission?"

Luke just stared at Reid. "Haven't you ever been to an elementary school band concert before?"

"No."

"Well, it's not just the band from Ethan's school; they've invited the bands from the neighbouring schools as well as the junior band from the high school. That's why Natalie is playing tonight."

"So uh, how many bands is that in total?"

"About seven bands and one, maybe two string programs."

"You can't be serious," Reid said.

"Reid," Luke replied. "You'll be fine. It'll only be about two, maybe two and a half hours long. Ethan was really excited when I told him you were coming, and Natalie has a solo in one of the pieces that she's playing. It won't be that bad, I promise."

Reid started to protest, but the words died on his lips as he took in the earnest expression on Luke's face.

"All right," Reid sighed. "Let's go in."

As they reached the doors, Luke took out his wallet and pulled out a fifty dollar bill.

"What are you doing?" Reid asked in disbelief.

"What?" Luke asked innocently.

"Why are you giving them money? Shouldn't they be paying us to sit through this?"

"Reid," Luke admonished "I'm just making a donation. All proceeds go toward funding the arts in the school system."

"You are way too kind hearted," Reid said, reaching for Luke's hand.

"Lucky for you," Luke smiled back, squeezing Reid's hand.

Reid just cocked an eyebrow in response.

The two entered the auditorium and quickly found seats.

"Where are Holden and Lily? Shouldn't they be here to listen to the kids?"

"Well my Dad's in Kentucky looking at horses."

"And your mom is…?" Reid prompted.

"Well…uh… my mom doesn't really enjoy band concerts," Luke explained, blushing slightly.

Reid rolled his eyes. "No one likes band concerts, they're horrible. So what is she doing instead?"

"I dunno. She said something about having a drink with some guy," Luke shrugged.

"Uh huh," Reid said. "What about your Grandma Emma? This seems like something she would love to do."

Luke nodded, "Yeah, Grandma was always great about coming to school events. Unfortunately she had to go visit Aunt Meg. It looks like she's going to be released soon and she needed Grandma there for moral support."

"So it's just us then? We're the family cheering section."

"Yep," Luke said. "Oh and we have to cheer for Sage too. She plays the clarinet. Uncle Jack and Aunt Carly needed to get away to work on their relationship. Apparently their new baby didn't fix all of their problems after all."

"Who knew?" Reid replied, wondering yet again how Luke had managed to turn out so perfectly.

"So what instruments do Ethan and Natalie play?" Reid asked.

"Ethan plays the trumpet and Natalie plays the oboe. She has a solo tonight that she's really nervous about. She's actually pretty good though."

"Uh huh," Reid replied, hoping that Luke was right.

All too soon the lights dimmed and an ugly middle aged man picked up the mic and started droning on about how important music programs are to a child's developing mind, and how happy he was that everyone had come out to support these budding, young musicians.

Reid snorted at that and Luke squeezed his hand in an effort to quiet him.

Reid leaned over and whispered a quick apology into Luke's ear. He knew that this was important to Luke and he vowed just to tune out the old windbag.

Finally the man reluctantly relinquished the microphone and the music began. Ethan's band was the first to play and they actually did a decent job. Luke was almost bursting with pride when the trumpet section was featured in the second piece.

"Ethan played well," Reid whispered into Luke's ear.

Luke beamed at him. "Yeah he did a great job!"

Three more bands played, each one a little more terrible than the one before and Reid was wondering if he really was going to survive the onslaught of noise when the first string ensemble took to the stage. Reid really wished he had some earplugs for them. The conductor stressed/warned that they were just learning the violin, which is a very difficult instrument.

Reid groaned quietly which drew a sympathetic look from Luke.

The strings were terrible but mercifully brief. They actually wasn't as awful as Reid had feared. After the strings finished there was a brief intermission, where Luke went and found Reid a bag of sour gummies, a chocolate brownie and a bottle of water. Reid happily devoured both the candies and the brownies quickly. He frowned slightly at the water, but merely shrugged and drank it quickly. After intermission the two men returnec to their seats and got ready to listen to the second half of the program, which Reid hoped would go more quickly than the first. The bands in the second half were a bit better than those that came first, as the children were older, and presumably had more experience. Finally it was time for the last band to play, which happened to include both Sage and Natalie.

Reid could feel the nervous energy radiating off of Luke and he gave Luke's hand a comforting squeeze. "Don't worry, she's going to be great," he whispered into Luke's ear, hoping he was right.

The piece began and Natalie's clear, beautiful line was highlighted perfectly. It was instantly clear why the teacher had chosen this particular piece. Luke looked on with such pride and love that Reid couldn't help but smile tenderly in response.

"What instrument is that?" the person sitting behind Reid whispered to her seatmate.

"I don't know," he answered. "I think that it's a trumpet, or maybe a sax."

Reid turned around and glared at the pair until they were silent and shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

Luke squeezed Reid's hand in a silent thank-you and the two enjoyed the rest of the piece. When it ended the audience clapped loudly, especially when the conductor signalled Natalie to stand and take a bow.

Luke and Reid beamed at her.

After that the principal made a long speech thanking the audience for coming and reminding parents where to pick up their children.

Luke and Reid followed the endless masses into the lobby so that they could pick up the kids. Ethan was the first to appear.

"Reid you came!" he exclaimed, delightedly. "Did you hear me? I played extra loudly just in case you were here, and you were."

"I heard you Ethan," Reid answered slightly bemused by Ethan's enthusiasm. :"You did a great job!"

"What did you think, Luke?" Ethan asked, suddenly realizing that his brother was there too.

"I thought you did a super job!"

"Thanks Luke," he said. "Did you guys hear Natalie? Wasn't she amazing? Some of my friends kept saying that her oboe sounds like a duck but I thought she sounded great!"

"The oboe is the Duck in Peter and the Wolf," Reid explained, while Luke just stared at him.

"Is there anything you don't know?" Luke asked, quietly. "You're right Ethan, Natalie played really well."

Just then Natalie and Sage appeared. "Luke, Reid, you guys came!" Natalie said flinging her arms enthusiastically around Luke who responded in kind and then Reid who awkwardly returned the embrace.

"Of course we came," Luke assured her. "Your solo was amazing, Natalie. I'm so proud of you!"

"Me too," Reid offered quietly.

"You were great too, Sage," Luke added, quickly giving her a warm hug.

"Thanks Luke," she smiled shyly. "I'm really glad that you were here."

"Well we better get you guys home," Reid suggested before anyone started leaking tears.

"Aw do we hafta go home?" Ethan whined. "Can't we go to Al's for a milkshake? I bet Reid would like a milkshake," he added, looking hopefully at Reid.

"Not tonight, buddy. It's late and you need to get some sleep."

"Alright," Ethan sighed.

"Sage, are you staying over?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, my stuff's already there," she replied.

"Great, let's get going. Mom should be home by now."

"Will you guys stay with us if she's not?" Ethan asked, hopefully.

"Of course we will," Luke answered, silently imploring Reid not to contradict him.

One hour later Luke and Reid were finally home. Mercifully Lily had been home and they had managed to extricate themselves from the Lilypad fairly quickly. Reid had endured another hug from Ethan and Natalie, which secretly he was starting to enjoy, and then Luke said a firm good night to Lily

Hours later as the two lay happily tangled in each other, satisfied and near sleep.

"Thanks again for coming to the concert with me," Luke said kissing Reid one last time.

"No problem," Reid shrugged. "Hey Luke…"

"Yeah?"

"Happy Anniversary!"

'\


End file.
